Flemish

This drawing is a copy of the central figures in Peter Paul Rubens's painting of Bacchus (around 1638-40), now in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. Rubens was one of the most influential 17th-century artists, and many copies were made after his work. This drawing has usually been attributed to an anonymous Flemish artist. Examination of the sheet under ultraviolet light revealed faded white highlights on the figure of Bacchus. These were quite skillfully executed, leading scholars to reconsider the suggestion of one art historian, Michael Jaffe, who believed this drawing could be the work of Jacob Jordaens (1593-88), Rubens's distinguished young contemporary. Jordaens's interest in the nude, and particularly obese male nudes, might explain the isolation of the robust Bacchus, Roman god of wine and fertility, from the fuller Rubens composition; yet certain missing features make a solid connection between this work and Jordaens problematic; for example, the lack of colored washes, almost always found in the Jordaens drawings of the time. While a definite attribution is still impossible, at the very least it is evident that a Flemish follower of Rubens working in Belgium shortly after Rubens's death executed this fine copy.